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A certain Jesus
THE WHEAT AND THE BAD GRASS
That afternoon, after fishing, we all gathered in the house. Jesusí visit to Cornelius,
the Roman Captain of Capernaum, enraged everyone. For several hours we did nothing but nag him
about it... My father, Zebedee, was the most vocal of all.
Zebedee: Wait till he comes. Iím gonna give him a piece of my mind, dammit, Iím gonna
say things to his face which no one has ever told him. I canít stand the shame that heís
caused us, and Iím not about to tolerate bootlickers of the Romans. The bootlickers
are as filthy as the Romans, because they support their dirty tricks, damn!
John: Take it easy, old man... Címon, relax.... It was already dark when Jesus peeped in the
door... Jesus: Zebedee... Zebedee... May I come in?
No one answered.... Jesus: I asked if I could come in...
Zebedee: Go to hell, Nazarene! Jesus: As everybody knows, and I suppose youíve
already told him that I didnít set foot in the Captainís house. I didnít enter his
house. ìI didnít stain my sandals by stepping on the Romanís yardî...
Zebedee: Who do you think you are anyway? Do you think you can just come and go with
nobody ever questioning you? Or donít you know who this Matthew is, that blood-sucking
tax collector? And donít you know who this Cornelius is, that damned Captain whoís possessed
by the devil like all the rest of his kind? Youíve been staying with us in Capernaum
for six months and until now, you donít know these slobs? Now, answer me.
Jesus: I think I know them better than you do, Zebedee.
Zebedee: Oh, yeah? Better than I do? So, why donít you join them in their hang-out and
gnaw bones with the countryís traitors! I canít provide shelter to chameleons who conveniently
change their colors! Jesus: Does this mean that I canít come in?
Zebedee: Come in, dammit, come in... You canít just stand there like a beggar... After all,
I already lost my cool before noontime, even before this swine, Matthew, came to see you...
Jesus went inside the house and looked at everyone... Then he sat on the floor, with
crossed legs. We were expecting an explanation from him, but he didnít say anything.
Zebedee: Damn you, Jesus? Have you swallowed your tongue?!
James: Letís make this clear, Jesus: We are here everyday trying to figure out how we
can get rid of these Romans, and here you go to the house of their chief, Cornelius,
no less. May the lightning strike him dead! John: Once you said that the Romans are squeezing
our necks and that things have to change; but now, the whole barrio has seen you with
this traitor, Matthew, on your way to the Captainís house... Whatís the matter with
you? Zebedee: May the gates of hell open up and
swallow you, Jesus. We canít understand you! Well, ainít you gonna speak up?
Jesus: Zebedee, this Captain Cornelius isnít a bad man. Believe me.
James: Heís not a bad man, dammit, but heís a Roman! Thatís enough!
Jesus: Yes, heís a Roman... so what? John: The Romans are our enemies.
Jesus: Cornelius is a Roman. Weíre Jews, and the others are Greeks... So what?... You
donít eat the skin of the fruit but the flesh inside, donít you?... This captain has the
skin of a Roman, but inside him is good fruit. James: Then beware that you donít choke on
this fruit! Zebedee: Nonsense, Jesus, this is nonsense...
I think youíre getting to be scatterbrained. If we say we gotta get rid of the Romans,
so be it! And thatís final! Jesus: Well, look, old man. I think, what
happened to Titus and Abdon will also happen to you.
Zebedee: What do you mean? And who the devil are they?
Jesus: They were Renatoís companions... Zebedee: Whatíre you talkiní about, dammit?
Jesus: Renato was a farmer who owned a small parcel of land, out there behind the hills
of Nazareth... Jesus: When the rainy season came, Renato
planted all his land with wheat... Wife: What now, old man? Are you tired?
Renato: Yes, Iím tired but happy, woman... I expect a good harvest this year, youíll
see. Wife: And weíll be able to buy sheep, wonít
we? Renato: Not one but four, woman. Weíre gonna
buy a goat too... Itís gonna be a good harvest, youíll see, youíll see...
Jesus: But Renato had a troublesome neighbor who was envious whenever things went well
with his neighbors. One midnight, this neighbor got up and slipped onto the land where Renato
had sown wheat... Neighbor: Ha!... Iíll sow bad seed on the
farm and will destroy his harvest.... Then Iíll die laughing seeing the expression on
the stupid manís face, ha, ha, ha! Jesus: So while everyone was sleeping, the
evil man sowed bad seeds on the land of this poor man, Renato... After a few days, the
seeds began to sprout and the land began to clothe itself with a green mantle of young
blades. The wheat and the bad seed began to grow together... When Titus and Abdon, friends
of Renato, passed by and saw the disaster, they ran to their friend and told him...
Renato: Hey, whatís the matter, huh? Titus: Open the door, Renato! Itís us!
Renato: What seems to be the trouble, pals? Abdon: Donít you know?
Renato: What? Abdon: There are weeds on your land! We looked
closely and saw a lot of weeds growing... Renato: That canít be. I chose the seeds
very carefully. I sowed wheat seeds of good quality.
Titus: But the whole farm is loaded with crab grass.
Renato: Hell! Who wouldíve wanted to cause me harm?
Abdon: You can figure it out for yourself... Everyone knows him.
Renato: Do you think heís capable of doing such a thing?
Abdon: Why, of course man. Heís capable of doing it and more. This neighbor of yours
is evil. Renato: How I wish I could squeeze his neck
and...! Titus: Take it easy, Renato. Thereís no need
to worry. Tomorrow, Abdon and I will give you a hand. The three of us will rid your
farm of the weeds that are growing and your problem is solved.
Renato: Thank you, my friends, thank you. Iím counting on you.
Jesus: The following morning... Renato: Hey, wait a minute. What are you pulling?
Let me see... Titus: This is bad grass, look...
Renato: No, man, no. Thatís wheat. Titus: Look closely, Renato, these are weeds.
Renato: Donít be silly, Titus, I tell you, these are wheat stalks!
Titus: What do you say, Abdon? Abdon: Let me see... I donít know, they look
the same to me... Titus: I swear by Abraham, this is bad grass,
Renato! Renato: And I insist that itís good grass,
Titus, and youíre uprooting my wheat!... Pff!! One problem after another. That neighbor
of mine destroyed my land and now youíre killing my harvest...
Abdon: Okay, Renato, what do you want us to do then?
Renato: Look, friends, please pardon me. Iím grateful that youíve come... but, letís
leave this for another day. Will that be okay? Since we canít see the fruit yet, itís too
difficult to distinguish wheat from weed. Letís wait for them to grow together, until
we can separate one from the other. After all, the harvest wonít be damaged. The only
problem is that in the end itíll involve more work separating the good fruit and throwing
away the bad ones. Titus: Youíre right. Itíll be worse to pull
out the wheat thinking itís bad grass. Itís too soon to know.
Renato: Iíll let you know when itís harvest time. Then weíll burn the weeds while we
put the wheat in the barn. Is that okay? Abdon: Sure, itís okay, Renato.
Jesus: So the days passed by, and the wheat grew together with the bad grass. When harvest
time came, Renato and his friends separated the wheat heads from the weeds easily. This
time, they were not mistaken. They learned patience and committed no mistakes.
Zebedee: So Iím likened to Titus and Abdon, Renatoís friends, huh?
Jesus: I think so, Zebedee. You said: ìCornelius is bad grass, so out with him! Heís got to
be pulled out.î Zebedee: Yes, I said it, and Iím saying it
again, hell! Jesus: Well you see, God isnít that way.
Heís more patient, because He knows that people are like trees: we are known by the
fruit. If a tree yields good fruit, then itís a good one even if it has an ugly skin. But
if the fruit is bad, the tree is bad, notwithstanding its good appearance. What matters is the fruit,
Zebedee. Címon, tell me, have you ever seen a vine with thorns bearing grapes?
Zebedee: No! Jesus: And have you ever seen a bush of thistles
with figs on their branches? Zebedee: Nope!
Jesus: Sooo.... Zebedee: I still maintain that Cornelius is
a Roman wolf. Tell me who your friends are and Iím gonna tell you who you are!
Jesus: Of course, that one is easier. We point an accusing finger, we put a label on other
peopleís foreheads saying: Youíre the bad ones, weíre the good ones. ìMy God, send
forth your fire from heaven and destroy all these scoundrels!î... But the Lord simply
smiles and says: Hey, how can you tell wheat from bad grass? ìBecause this is Roman, and
that one is Jew, and this Phariseeís a pious man, while heís a rebel zealot, and this
Saduceeís a traitor, while this man is a priest of the temple!î... God takes away
all labels they carry and burns them in the garbage. Show me the fruit and then we talk.
Donít you think, Zebedee, we should focus more on what one does than on the label one
has? Zebedee: There is only one thing that matters
to me, Jesus...! Jesus: What is it, Zebedee?
Zebedee: That the captain is a Roman! And just the sight of him makes me throw up! Thatís
why your having gone to his house was in poor taste indeed! Itíll always be so for me until
the end of the world!! John: Take it easy, Papa... You might faint...
be calm.... Jesus: When that day comes, perhaps youíll
understand everything, Zebedee. Itís only at the end when we see things clearly. The
matter of separating wheat from weeds belongs to God, not to us.
My father, Zebedee, kept on grumbling. And so did my brother, James, and Peter, and I.
We spent several hours arguing with Jesus. Not one of us understood the story of the
wheat and the weeds then.